AP PHOTOS: The moment to restore broken baby Jesus figurines has come in Mexico

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Running against time, dozens of people meticulously fix broken limbs and reconstruct disfigured faces — but with plaster, gouges and sandpaper. Rows of busy artisans filled a bustling market in downtown Mexico City Thursday to restore the fragile baby Jesus figurines that many Catholic families keep at home in Mexico. As if in an operating room, the worn and broken baby Jesuses crowded work tables, awaiting repairs in time for their annual pilgrimage to church this Sunday. (AP video: Martín Silva Rey)

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Jose repairs a figurine of Baby Jesus ahead of “Dia de la Candelaria,” or Candlemas, in Mexico City, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

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Workers repair figurines of Baby Jesus in Mexico City, ahead of “Dia de la Candelaria,” or Candlemas, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

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Julio Cesar repairs figurines of Baby Jesus ahead of “Dia de la Candelaria,” or Candlemas, in Mexico City, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

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Figurines of Baby Jesus lie for sale in Mexico City, ahead of “Dia de la Candelaria,” or Candlemas, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

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Julio Cesar repairs a figurine of Baby Jesus ahead of “Dia de la Candelaria,” or Candlemas, in Mexico City, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

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Figurines of Baby Jesus lie for sale in Mexico City, ahead of “Dia de la Candelaria,” or Candlemas, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

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Figurines of Baby Jesus dry off in the sun after being painted in Mexico City, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, ahead of “Día de la Candelaria,” or Candlemas. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

MEXICO CITY (AP) — It might cost more to repair them than to buy new ones. But baby Jesus figurines have such sentimental value in families that every January an area in downtown Mexico City is full of people with the broken religious sculptures looking for a workshop for hands, legs, nose, eyes, eyelashes or fingers.

Mexicans restore their baby Jesus figurines in time for Candlemas, on Feb. 2, the Catholic feast marking the end of Christmas celebrations that commemorates the Virgin Mary’s purification and Jesus’ presentation at the temple.

It is common that from one year to the next, plaster figures lose a hand, a nose, a finger or even the entire head. However, some people decide not to replace their figurine but to restore it, because they were a gift or have been with them for years.

“It is cheaper to buy one, but it is not so much the one you buy, but the one someone has given you, (it’s) why you have it. Nothing more,” said María Sánchez Arena, 61, who this time of the year helps restoring baby Jesus figurines.

Mexicans often keep the figurines during the Christmas season in Nativity scenes displayed in homes, and on Candlemas they take them to church to be blessed.